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Releford working to become complete player

Travis Releford has an almost unlimited number of options to consider when it comes to his future. However, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard from Bishop Miege High School in Shawnee Mission, Kan., isn't focused on the recruiting process. When the Stags take the court on Thursday night to face Springhill, Releford is hoping to take his game to another level.
"We open up against Springhill on Thursday night at 8:00 CST," said Bishop Miege head coach Rick Zeke. "After that, we travel to Harmon on Saturday. We are tired of beating each other up and I am looking forward to evaluating the players this week in order to see how they going to respond.
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"We have a long way to go," he added. "The guys are ready to get out on the court and play in a game that counts. It's going to be a fun experience for us, but we do have a long way to get in terms of our team."
When it comes to Releford, the No. 43 ranked player in the class of 2008, he is hoping to expand his game quite a bit this year. The four-star prospect established himself as a scoring machine during his days at Central Senior High School.
According to Zeke, Releford's role is going to change quite a bit this season. Some of the changes will be noticeable from the very beginning, while others will take time. However, there is no question that he is working extremely hard to become a complete player on both ends of the court.
"Travis is doing well," said Zeke. "We are trying to get him to do a few things that he is uncomfortable doing. We are trying to improve his passing and defense. I can tell you that Travis has got God given skills.
"We are probably going to post Travis up a lot more this year and we are definitely going to put the ball in his hands," he added. "We are going to do a lot of different things with Travis and will do everything we can to make him a better basketball player. He is a very talented young man."
Despite the fact that Releford, the No. 6 ranked shooting guard in the class, is just a few days away from the start of his junior campaign, high-major programs from all across the United States are more than aware of his on-the-court abilities.
Releford is currently receiving interest from the likes of Connecticut, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Miami-FL, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Kansas State and others.
"Things have kind of slowed down with his recruitment," said Zeke. "Coach Tim Jankovich from Kansas was here for our first practice. KU hasn't missed a first practice in three years. I talked to Coach Steve Robinson from North Carolina and he requested a copy of our schedule for this year.
"Coach Mike Anderson from Missouri has called and the coaching staff from Kansas State has also done a nice job of recruiting Travis," he added. "I had a conversation with a coach from Texas, and he told me that they are more impressed with Travis and his ability to play defense than anything else."
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